Cubs, an all encompassing trip

Results tagged ‘ Shaun Marcum ’

Please don’t get swept. It’s been a nightmare season against the Brewers as the Cubs have lost all but three games, they’ve played 16 times! Brooks Raley looks to finish off the season series with a win this afternoon against Shaun Marcum. Anthony Rizzo is back in the lineup, while Alfonso Soriano gets a breather, here is how the rest of the Cubs will line up.

The Cubs look to continue their success on the longest home stand of the year as they welcome the Brewers to town for a four game set. Revenge might also be on the Cubs mind as they were swept by the Brewers last week in Milwaukee. At this point both teams are playing out the string, but it’s an important time for many young guys as they are trying to impress the front office heading into next year. One guy that is doing that lately is Brett Jackson, after struggling immediately after his call up Jackson has made the necessary adjustments to find results. It seems to be working as Jackson was 4-for-8 against the Rockies with two home runs and three RBI’s. He will look to continue that success against a Brewers team that is finally finding some traction, just a little too late to salvage this season. The Brewers are 7-3 in their last ten games and are playing much better baseball of late. They are led by reigning MVP Ryan Braun who is putting up similar numbers this year, if the Cubs want to get that revenge against the Brewers they are going to have to shut Braun down. Surprisingly the Cubs have limited Braun this year, sure he is hitting .304 against the Cubs this year but he only has one home run, and four RBI’s.

Chris Volstad has been put on notice in my opinion. For te 18th straight time Volstad walked away from a game in which he started with something other than a win. Volstad was good for a little while, then he was Chris Volstad in the 6th inning as he imploded giving up five runs all earned on his way to his fifth loss of the season. The Cubs offense didn’t do much to help him out as they only managed two runs on five hits against Shaun Marcum, why, because Marcum has a change-up and those guys usually baffle the Cubs. Tony Campana had a strong day at the plate going 2-for-4 with an RBI double.

The only good thing to take away from this game is the Cubs showing Ryan Braun that he can’t act like a 5-year-old on the field after getting hit by a pitch. Braun overreacted in a big way when he was hit by a Lendy Castillo pitch last night in the 13th inning by launching his bat some 20 feet in the air. He got what he deserved in the first inning when Volstad plunked him, Marcum returned the favor by hitting Soriano in the next inning, both teams were warned and that was the end of it. The Brewers however, got the last laugh as they walked away with the most important thing, a victory. Coming into this series the Cubs were playing well, and they were a few pitches away from starting this series with a win, now they have to win tomorrow to avoid a sweep and quite possibly a prolonged losing streak. Full box score and highlights after the jump.

There are going to be games like this one, odds are there are going to be a lot of games like this one, and I’m okay with that. The Cubs have now lost three of their first four games on the season, and probably couldn’t lose three more difficult ways if they tried. Monday night’s episode included two successful squeeze bunts by the Brewers, and a furious ninth inning rally only to end in horrible, mind numbing defeat.

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